BackUp
by DFM
Summary: "Please, Lanie, let me borrow your boyfriend for the one night."  Chapter 2 & 3 are now up.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Back-Up

**Pairing(s):** Castle/Beckett (kinda), a little Esposito/Lanie

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** "Please, Lanie, let me borrow your boyfriend for the one night."

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** None.

**A/N:** Just assume that Beckett and Josh have broken up... most of you are already pretending that anyway, right? :P

* * *

"What's going on?" Castle asked as he walked up behind Ryan and Esposito. The two detectives jumped and almost let out yelps of surprise, but just managed to contain them. Ryan made a shushing noise and then pointed towards where they'd been watching. Inside one of the conference rooms, Beckett looked to be practically pleading with Lanie. "What's that all about?"

"They're fighting over me," Esposito answered, smugly. Ryan snorted, but didn't deny it.

Castle's brow furrowed. It wasn't that he couldn't imagine Beckett fighting over a man; in fact he could imagine it _really_ well. It was just that his scenarios had never included Esposito.

"They're coming," Ryan whispered urgently, and all three men tried to pretend that they'd been doing something productive.

Not that it mattered, because both women were still concentrating on their conversation.

"Please, Lanie, let me borrow your boyfriend for the one night. You know I wouldn't ask unless I was desperate."

"Hey," Esposito said indignantly, just loud enough that only Castle and Ryan heard him.

"Girl, you know I wouldn't mind if it was any other night," Lanie placed a sympathetic hand on her friend's arm, both ignoring Esposito's much louder 'hey!', "but it's amazing that we even got tickets to this concert."

Beckett groaned, before walking to her desk and collapsing into her chair. Lanie followed, taking up Castle's usual seat. "Do you want me to set you up with someone?"

"Lanie, I don't want to have to deal with a first date on top of having to deal with my cousin's family. I just need back-up."

"How about one of those two?" She pointed to Castle and Ryan, who were no longer pretending they weren't paying attention.

Beckett didn't even look in their direction. "I don't know Jenny well enough to ask her and I am _not_ talking to Gina."

"You could always ask Dem -"

"Gina doesn't have to know!" Castle cut in quickly. Both women turned to look at him like he was insane. "I'll just tell her we're working on case... Like an undercover mission!"

Lanie barely contained her smirk as she glanced back and forth between her friend and the author. "How bout it, Beckett? You want to go _undercover_ with Castle?"

Beckett was impressed that Lanie refrained from adding an eyebrow wiggle. "Castle, you don't even know what we're talking about."

"You need someone to go with you to a family gathering..."

"My cousin's _wedding_. Aren't you allergic to those?"

"In general, yes, but I think the possibility of meeting your family and getting some good dir... stories may outweigh the danger of anaphylactic shock."

"It's unlikely the cake will contain a toxin," Lanie threw in, "so that risk is probably minimal."

"I wouldn't be too sure," Beckett grumbled. She looked at the highly amused faces of her friends, who she would find a way to get back at for this, before turning to Castle who was smiling at her with a mixture of hopefulness and deviousness that was purely him. "Fine... you can go with me."

As the boys proceeded to 'feed the bird' Beckett tried not to think about how she'd potentially just made the event harder to get through, not easier.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**A/N 2: **I may write about the wedding at some point, but really I just had to get this scene out of my brain.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **So, you guys asked for the wedding scene and here it is! Thank you so much to those of you who were patient with me. Extra thanks to those of you who weren't and poked me with various sharp objects lol

* * *

Castle glanced around the lobby of the hotel, searching for his beautiful, and probably over-stressed, partner. She'd spent two hours the night before 'briefing' him on the family politics that would be involved in today's event. Though honestly, since she kept fidgeting with the necklace that held her mother's ring, which in the process gaped her blouse open just a bit more, he wasn't sure he'd actually heard everything she was saying. What he did remember was that the cousin whose wedding they were going to was from Johanna's side of the family, and that said family had had very little to do with Kate or her father since Johanna's death. From the barely concealed hurt and anger in Beckett's voice, Castle assumed that it was more than a case of drifting apart.

He'd asked her why she was even going, since it was obvious she was dreading it. All she'd said was, _"It's my cousin's wedding."_

For the first time he could remember, Castle was grateful he didn't come from a big family.

"Castle?"

He turned around and froze. There wasn't anything about the pink dress that was inappropriate, the skirt ended below her knees and the top covered everything, but it hugged her curves in all the right places and the black lace that lined the top kept it from looking completely innocent. When he managed to drag his eyes up to her face, he found that she was arching an eyebrow at him and he realized he'd yet to say anything. "We should go to weddings more often."

"How about if we make it through this one before we start making future plans?"

He let out a dramatic sigh his mother would be proud of. "Ever the pragmatist, Detective." He held out his arm, quite gallantly if he did say so himself. "Shall we?"

Biting her bottom lip, Beckett considered him for a moment, before looping her arm through his. "Once more into the breach..."

"Beckett, there are people around, don't start quoting plays at me now..."

"Wait until you hear me quote the sonnets."

He playfully whimpered before leading her out of the lobby.

##

The wedding itself was fairly uneventful. The bride and groom stared adoringly at each other the entire time. No one forgot their vows or the rings. In fact, if not for a disgruntled flower girl who sat down in the middle of the aisle when she decided that it was too far to walk, the entire thing went off without a hitch.

Unfortunately, since no one objected or ran away with a bridesmaid, that meant that they still had to go to the reception.

Once they made it through the crowd of relatives and friends, they found their assigned seats with relative ease. Beckett looked around and grabbed two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter and handed one to Castle before drinking about half of the glass.

"Not that I wouldn't love to see you drunk, but..."

"Don't finish that sentence, Castle." She did set her glass down on the table though, before taking her seat.

Slipping into his own, Castle glanced around, observing the interactions around them. It did not escape his notice that as they'd made their way through the room Beckett had received many cursory smiles and a few 'hellos', but that no one had actually approached her, much less hugged her like she was family. What was wrong with these people?

"Okay, I've got to know... Why are they acting like you're a Battlestar Galactica fan at a Star Trek convention?"

Beckett became extremely interested in what was going on directly in front of her and refused to glance towards Castle. "I frakking told you all of this last night."

"Okay, that was kind of sexy, but no, you didn't. You told me that you didn't get along with your family. This... this is something more. I've had warmer conversations with complete strangers - "

"Oh, I know," she grumbled, but a tiny smirk graced her features and her eyes darted towards him. He wasn't about to be sidetracked, however, and gave her a look that said as much. Sighing, she stood up, tugging on his arm so he followed her, stopping only when they were tucked into a dark corner, away from everyone else. "My mom's family was not happy when she married my dad. Half of them didn't even come to the wedding. I can count the number of times my family went to big family events while I was growing up on one hand. They didn't want us and we didn't particularly want them.

"When my mom died... They blamed my dad for her death, like if he had just made sure that we lived in a 'better area' she would still be alive. I think if I had been underage they would have tried to take me away from him. They felt like it was their duty to make sure I was well taken care of."

Castle watched as she struggled through her story. He almost regretted making her relive it, but he seriously doubted she'd talked about this is a long time. So, instead of stopping her, he stepped closer and rubbed a hand up and down her arm supportively.

Beckett drew in a shaky breath, momentarily distracted by the feel of his hand on her, before she shook her head to clear it. "I thought that they actually cared about me. They were acting so nice, and my dad was having such a hard time that I was taking care of him more than he was of me... I just... I was 19 and didn't want to have to be an adult all the time.

"Then my aunts started setting me up with 'eligible men who could take care of me'. You should have seen the guys they set me up with. The son of a real-estate mogul who was being groomed to take over the family business, a VP of a computer company, and a guy who was French Royalty... he was pretty nice actually. When I told them to stop setting me up, that I didn't want to be any guy's trophy wife, they said I was just as ungrateful as my mother.

"God, Castle... I have never yelled as loudly or with as many expletives as I did that day. My mother _loved_ my dad, she loved me. And here were these women who hadn't paid one ounce of attention to me for most of my life, telling me that she should have been ashamed of the life she built with my father and that I shouldn't want that for myself..."

The tears brimming in her eyes were what finally broke him and he pulled her into his arms, cradling her as she took steadying breaths and fought back the tears.

"Why are we giving these people any of your time, Beckett?" he whispered into her hair. "They don't deserve it."

She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. "Because my parents taught me that family is important. I don't have to like them, and I don't have to see them regularly, but if I cut them out of my life entirely... somehow that feels more like letting them win."

He couldn't make himself agree with her, but it wasn't important if he did or not; what mattered was getting Beckett through this night. "Okay, but I'm going to make sure you never see the bottom of your champagne glass."

"Now you're catching on." She looped her arm through his and they walked back towards their table, where other people were now sitting as well. If he had to guess, he would say that the bride and groom were going to be introduced very soon. "It might not be too bad though," she commented, grinning at him slyly. "After all, you're exactly what they've been hoping I'd 'bring home' all this time."

* * *

**A/N 2:** Everyone still with me? There's one more chapter to this, which... wait for it... has already been written!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I told you I had chapter 3! I'm trying really hard not to spam you guys right now, but be on the look out for another couple stories to be posted very soon.

* * *

Beckett tried not to laugh at Castle's less than subtle groan of protest as the Best Man _finally_ finished his speech. He leaned over, and whispered in her ear, "Haven't these people ever heard of a ghostwriter? That was the worst speech I have ever heard."

"But Castle," she whispered back playfully, not noticing how close they've gotten, "it was all about 'the having, and the giving, and the receiving'."

He groaned again. "Please don't make me sit through another one of these."

"Relax. They're almost done. Then we just have to say hi to a couple people and then hide on the dance floor for a bit."

"You want me to do the robot in front of your family?"

She almost rolled her eyes, but then she actually started picturing that and couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. "I might actually pay to see that. Fair warning though, I will take a video and send it to Ryan and Esposito."

"Hmm... as long as that's not all you plan on recording tonight, I suppose I can live with that."

"I don't even want to know what your twisted little mind is thinking of right now."

He started to say something, but she pushed him back fully into his chair. Her Uncle Preston, father of the bride, was just taking the microphone.

"When my little Gracie told me she was getting married, I tried not to think of it as losing a daughter, but gaining a son..."

Castle groaned.

##

An involuntary gasp escaped Beckett as Castle expertly spun her out before drawing her back to him. It had been a very long time since she had danced with anyone who was capable of doing something more than slow dancing or stepping on her feet.

"Your mother made you take lessons, didn't she?" Beckett asked teasingly, barely holding in the girlish impulse to giggle.

Castle merely smirked and shook his head. "My mother did many things, but make me take ballroom lessons was not one of them. That would have meant that she had to get me somewhere weekly at a regularly scheduled time."

"Hmm... there still has to be a story behind this."

The band switched to a softer piece and without conscious thought the pair effortlessly switched to a waltz; they were too busy sending each other challenging looks.

"I'll tell you what, Ginger. You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

"_I_ did take dance lessons as a kid," she admitted easily. "I started with ballet because my friends were all taking it, but the studio offered a lot of classes. For awhile I was there almost every day after school: ballet, tap, jazz, _ballroom_. I kept with most of them until I got to high school and it was better for my social life to have my afternoons free. School dances were always a bit of a disappointment though."

"Sweaty palms and swaying no longer lived up to your expectations?"

"Not particularly. Your turn, Fred."

"I've been married twice, Beckett. Dance lessons are a 'make sure you don't embarrass yourself' requirement."

"So, you expect me to believe that you gained this level of comfort while only taking two lessons your entire life."

"I'm a fast learner." She stared at him skeptically until he finally cracked. "Okay, fine. It's possible that after the lessons we took before Gina and I got married, that Alexis became a little obsessed. She wanted to keep taking lessons and I didn't want some pimply faced kid dancing with her once a week, so we went together."

"Now that I believe." Her words were tinged with sarcasm but her eyes held nothing but warmth.

##

"Katherine, darling."

Beckett winced at the sickly sweet voice. _So close_, she grumbled mentally. Involuntarily her eyes darted to the bar where Castle had gone to get them more drinks. They really should have come up with a 'rescue me' signal. Straightening her spine, Beckett smiled as much as she could force herself to.

"Aunt Clara! It's been awhile."

Clara was the sister that was closest to her mother in age, but that was all they had in common. Where her mom had been warm, playful, and loving, Clara was judgmental, strict, and when she pulled Beckett into a hug she was once again surprised how someone could take what should be a loving gesture and turn it into some kind of a obligation.

"Far too long, dear. How have you been?"

"Very well." _Though I haven't had nearly enough to drink for this much feigned politeness._ "And you?"

"As well as can be expected. Are you a... firefighter?"

And there it was! The first condescending remark and in 6 seconds no less; that had to be a new record. "I'm a cop, actually."

"Oh come on, Kate. You're not just _a_ cop." At any other moment she would be embarrassed by just how glad she was to hear Castle's voice, but as it was she had to resist the urge to spin around and kiss him for all she was worth. He slid an arm around her waist and she let him, even leaning into his side a bit as she took the drink he offered. His focus was entirely on her aunt however. "She has the highest closure rate in the city. I think the mayor is ready to dedicate a statue to her."

Beckett watched her aunt quickly add up the price of his shoes, suit, tie, and haircut and come to the conclusion that she shouldn't immediately dismiss him.

"Yes, we're all very proud of our Katie." Beckett scoffed lightly at both the nickname and the blatantly untrue statement, but her aunt continued on as if she hadn't heard her. "And you are...?"

"Richard Castle." He politely offered a hand which she shook while trying to place where she knew that name.

"Clara Baker. Your name sounds awfully familiar..."

"I'm a writer."

Oh, he was going to make her pay for this later, but she just couldn't help it... "Oh, come on, Rick. You're not just _a_ writer." Her eyes dancing mischievously before turning back to her aunt. "He's had 28 bestsellers, 5 of which have been nominated for Edgar awards."

She was sure Aunt Clara couldn't tell, but Beckett could feel Castle shaking with barely restrained laughter. A quick elbow to his ribs got him back under control... mostly.

Clara's smile brightened considerably. "That must be why your name sounds so familiar. Though I must admit I don't read many mysteries." She laughed. "How did you meet our Katie?"

"She brought me in for questioning on a murder," Castle said as easily as if they had simply been set up by a friend or met at a party.

"Oh..."

"It was quite refreshing to have a smart, beautiful woman talk to me for a reason other than I was famous or rich. How could I stay away?" He didn't wait for her to answer, taking both of their glasses and setting them down on a nearby table. "If you'll excuse us, I believe I'd like to dance with my date again."

Beckett waited until they were back out on the dance floor, wrapped in each other's arms before commenting. "That was less subtle than usual, Castle," her smile, which she realized she was doing a lot more of than she had expected to, took any bite out of her words they may have otherwise had.

"Subtlety is overrated. Besides, I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"You called me your date," she reminded him.

There was a tightening around his eyes, and though it was the only change in his easy posture, it was enough to make her regret bringing it up.

"Slip of the tongue."

"Right," she agreed quickly, hoping the sudden tension would disappear with that one word.

"Though, we've had dinner, drinks, and spent most of the night talking and dancing..."

"Castle..."

"I'm just saying. It sounds an awful lot like a date to me."

"Castle... Gina." She expected the woman's name to effectively burst the bubble they'd been living in all evening, but instead he didn't even flinch.

"I don't see what a woman I broke-up with months ago has to do with this."

She stopped. Stopped dancing, stopped breathing, stopped blinking... for just a moment as her mind tried to process this new information. "Wha-?"

"After the Triple Killer case... I took it as a very bad sign that, when having a gun shoved in my face, my girlfriend didn't cross my mind as someone I would regret not getting to talk to one more time."

"You can't make decisions based on..."

"And that's why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd tell me it was just a reaction to the stress, but it's been awhile now and I still think I made the right decision."

She studied him solemnly, before nodding once. "Okay. Why didn't you say anything later though?"

"Until recently, there wasn't a reason to bring it up, and then... there just never seemed to be a good time to say anything."

"You should have told me."

He nodded in acceptance, before pulling her back to him. They danced together silently for the rest of the song and into the next.

##

Beckett had taken a cab to the hotel, so at the end of the night Castle offered to drive her home. She pretended to be concerned about the thought of him actually controlling a moving vehicle, but accepted the ride nonetheless.

When he pulled up in front, she began to get out of the car before turning back. When she turned on his flashers, he looked at her questioningly.

"Walk me to my door, Castle."

##

**One Year Later**

"Do we _have_ to invite your Aunt Clara?" Rick grumbled as they looked over the guest list.

"You have asked me that about every single one of my relatives except my dad..."

"Yeah, well, I like your dad."

"... and my answer been the same each time. _Yes_, we have to invite them to the wedding. They're my family."

Rick studied his fiancé for a moment before shaking his head. "Your dad is family. Lanie, Ryan, Esposito, and Montgomery are family. These people..." he pointed at the list of names, "are stress tests."

Kate leaned over and took his mouth in a tender kiss. "Nice try. I am not crossing out one of their names so you can auction off on your website 'A Chance to See the Real-Life Nikki and Jameson Tie the Knot'."

"But it would be for charity!"

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**A/N 2: **You've all been amazing about this story! All of your feedback, favorites, and alerts have completely brightened my day. I hope the ending didn't disappoint :)


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